Kremmling rancher Paul Bruchez will not reapply for his position on the Colorado Water Conservation Board, according to an announcement by County Manager Ed Moyer at the Grand County Board of Commissioners meeting Jan. 28.

Bruchez has been involved in water management through various organizations for the past 15 years, most recently on the state board.

“Paul should be thanked,” Moyer told the commissioners. “He did an excellent, excellent job in that position.”

The water conservation board is seeking to fill Bruchez’s position representing the Colorado River main stem.

According to its website, the board was formed in 1937 “in a joint effort to use water wisely and protect Colorado’s water for future generations.”

Now that he is stepping down, Bruchez also will no longer serve as the Colorado Water Conservation Board representative on the Colorado Basin Roundtable.

There are nine roundtables that represent different basins in the state and assist the conservation board. According to the board’s website, the roundtables “broaden the range of stakeholders who are actively participating in Colorado’s water decisions and brings hundreds of citizens into the process.”

In addition, Moyer added that another position is open for a Grand County resident on the Colorado Basin Roundtable. Moyer said he is in talks with Fraser Trustee Adam Cwiklin about representing Grand County municipalities on the roundtable.

“Adam’s got a lot of background in water, and operating water and wastewater treatment plants, as well,” Moyer said.

This would be separate from the role that Bruchez has held on the roundtable. Moyer and commissioner Merrit Linke also sit on the Colorado Basin Roundtable.

Moyer and the commissioners agreed that having Grand County stakeholders involved in organizations such as the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Colorado Basin Roundtable is essential to Western Slope water management.

Moyer added that Russ George, who founded the roundtables in 2005, believes that “legislators today shouldn’t be talking about a water bill without going to their roundtable … without input from people affected.”